Social Media Marketing

For a small business, gaining steam on social media is undeniably an uphill battle. You have to contend with algorithms that make it nearly impossible to get discovered until you achieve a certain level of visibility. This situation puts you in a catch-22: you can’t get anyone to view your content until you get engagement, which requires views!

Nevermind the fact that social media overwhelmingly prefers silly or opinionated content—two things that really don’t gel with the average business’s branding. Sure, you can gain thousands of shares by posting ridiculous cat videos, but there’s a slim chance all that attention will aid your business goals.

Every business needs a social media presence, and most can benefit from actively trying to market and generate leads on the most popular social platforms.

The fact of the matter is that social media has become the preferred form of media in our day and age. 67% of people say they get their news from social media first, for instance. News breaking most often comes from shares or second-hand sources on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. In effect, content publishers have to have social media at the front of their mind if they hope for their outlet to get exposure for breaking a story as opposed to a competitor.

For businesses, this same principle holds true. If you aren’t active on social media, others may talk about your business and seize control of the narrative. Or, even worse, your business is all but invisible until someone else shares content or news talking about you.

Social media has profoundly changed the way we all use the internet, and that includes how businesses interact with their customers.

In the years since platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn were first introduced, they have evolved from an occasional distraction to the focal point of many people’s internet browsing. Conversations and content that used to be spread across multiple sites can all now be found in the same place: your social media newsfeed.

Businesses that ignore this transition face a harsh reality. Social media is often the first thing people check when they go online, and it may even be the only thing they check on any given day. Without a presence on social media, your business may very well be invisible!

Competing for user attention with content and social media marketing is getting more challenging. Keeping up with the latest trends is essential for achieving ROI on your campaigns.

According to a recent survey of 344 social media managers, almost 80% of businesses use social media to post original content. Yet, just a little over half (52%) say that they achieve revenue growth through their social efforts.

What is this half doing right? They pay close attention not just to social’s role in their marketing funnel strategy, but they also track emerging trends to stay on the cusp of social relevance. By reading the signs of the times, they can adjust their strategy to keep their social media marketing effective and achieving consistent positive ROI.

With just a few improvements, your social media profiles could become the crown jewel of your digital marketing strategy in 2018. By switching up your approach and committing to a higher level of quality, you could soon be generating more leads. This switch could also lead to more revenue, and interest in your company with minimal effort.

The great thing about social media marketing is that it doesn’t have to take a lot of your time to work wonders. If you plan ahead and use social media to reinforce your other marketing activities, you can achieve huge ROI. This can be achieved through both organic and paid social campaigns.

Try implementing the following five highly effective social media marketing improvements in 2018. This will inspire you to improve your social presence and go beyond expectations.

Social media marketing sounds simple enough to many newbie business owners, but they need to recognize the difference between personal social media use and professional use.

Think about it like this: if you make a good pot of coffee to serve your family, then that’s something you can manage on your own. But if you plan on serving 1,000 cups of coffee to peers over the course of a three-day business conference, then that’s an entirely more complex matter!

Everything gets more complicated when you move from personal to professional, and the results matter more, too.

Social media is an integral part of online marketing, and it’s always changing. What’s trending
today may be completely irrelevant to the social media trends tomorrow. It is necessary to stay up to date with social
trends and know when to adopt a new social strategy or when to let a trend simply pass by.
Here’s a look at the top five social media trends of the moment to guide your social media
marketing strategy and improve how you communicate with customers.

Integrated Video Is the New Standard
YouTube is a social media powerhouse, and the reason is simple: People would rather watch
videos than read articles. Videos are easily digestible, entertaining, and highly sharable. Because
of this, other social media sites are placing an emphasis on video. Facebook gives businesses the
ability to upload videos directly to the social media site and embed them on other sites. Other
social platforms will likely follow, making a video strategy a necessity for a strong social
marketing campaign.

Social Media Includes “Buy Now” Options
Along with integrated video, social media sites are offering the option to buy products from third
party advertisers without leaving the page. This could allow you to see increased conversions
and create more focused social ads that pay for themselves.

In-the- Moment Posts Are Increasing
Live streaming video and in-the- moment posts are a huge trend among social users. Sharing a
snapshot of one’s own life or the day-to- day business operations has become so popular that apps
like Periscope are being built simply to live stream videos. This shift may require you to adjust
your strategy to include more in-the- moment updates rather than just scheduling out your posts.

Blogging Is Happening on Social Sites
However, there is still room for scheduled content when it comes to long-form social posts.
Blogging is back, and it is taking place largely on social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook.
Not only is long-form content bringing more visitors to businesses’ social pages, but it can have
an incredibly positive impact on your search engine rankings overall.

For an in-depth look at all of your digital marketing needs and goals, call us today. (904) 823-9747